


On the Word of a Slytherin

by Bellsastuff



Series: Hockey/Hogwarts AU [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attempted Sexual Assault, M/M, Rape Aftermath, Rape Culture, Sexual Assault, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-19 02:57:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4730204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellsastuff/pseuds/Bellsastuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Gryffindors, as a whole, were not fans of Sidney Crosby.  Not that he really expected them to like the Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team who had the habit of snatching Snitches from under their nose, but sometimes it seemed like all he needed to do was open his mouth during a game to make them go apoplectic with anger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On the Word of a Slytherin

**Author's Note:**

> sooooo..... @charleeluciano on tumblr made FUCKING AMAZING FANART FOR THIS FIC, LOOK BECAUSE IT IS SO DOPE AND GENO'S FACE YOU GUYS. http://i.imgur.com/6kU1Hmj.jpg
> 
> !!!!!! READ THIS !!!!!!
> 
> I'll be totally honest here. This fic came about because I was trying to figure out the Kane situation and deal with my anger and frustration on the topic. I am aware that Patrick Kane has not been officially accused of rape yet. I am also aware that there was a grand jury convened yesterday and that we'll likely get news on whether Kane will be charged or not. From what I have read on this case and how Kane has acted, liking slut shaming posts on twitter and having his buddies talk about how the girl was a slut, I am no longer a fan of Kane. Period. That has, obviously, effected how this story came together and the plot issues herein. I would stress a possible trigger warning for anyone who has been in a situation of sexual assault. I don't believe that I was graphic and I do not describe a rape in this story, but it is still a very important thing to get out upfront.
> 
> I'm not posting this to miss off Kane fans. I'm posting this because I wrote it and I think it's not terrible. If you want to speak with me on this, or get angry at me, my tumblr handle is @purekesseltrash and my inbox allows anons. For now, at least.
> 
> Edit as of 09/13/15: Just added some extra tags to this because seriously, I don't want to trigger anyone and the thought of that is just too sad. I was in Madline's situation in the character so I very much understand how much it can mess with your life and again, I DO NOT WANT TO TRIGGER ANYONE WITH MY FANFIC.
> 
> Also, to make it clear, I do discuss rape culture in this fic, I do use Patrick Kane being a terrible human being and sexually aggressive to women as a subplot and use the Gryffindors as an allegory for fandom and how it can be very difficult and painful to find out that someone that you loved and cared for is not the person you thought or wanted them to be. Thank you.

The Gryffindors, as a whole, were not fans of Sidney Crosby.  Not that he really expected them to like the Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team who had the habit of snatching Snitches from under their nose, but sometimes it seemed like all he needed to do was open his mouth during a game to make them go apoplectic with anger.  After Quidditch matches, and especially after ones that they won against Slytherin, Sidney generally stayed as far away from their dormitory as he could to avoid any spillover of aggression for the match.  It was also because the idea of going over there and smashing someone's face in after a loss was very tempting.  

 

He really had tried to avoid them that night.  But Flowers had offered Sidney his notes for the upcoming Arithmancy test and for all that it was a pity offer after the loss, Sidney was not about to pass up the use of a Ravenclaw's notes to study with.  And though the Ravenclaw locker room was much closer to the Gryffindor locker room than Sidney would have preferred, Sidney was not about to show fear and ask Flowers to bring the notes to him.  He'd been almost out of earshot of the Gryffindor locker room but, for whatever reason, he heard a girl sob.

 

The hallway to his left was dimly lit but, yes, there were two people down at the length of the hall.  He should have just kept walking, that would have been the Ravenclaw thing to do, or called for help, which would have been the Hufflepuff thing to do.  But instead, he set Flowers's precious notes down to the side of the hallway, withdrew his wand and crept down the hallway.  This could give him some blackmail, he thought to himself in an appeasing way.  He could learn something useful, and that was very Slytherin of him.

 

But when he got closer, anger coursed through him like a shot of Firewhiskey.  It was Kane, the Gryffindor Seeker, and a Hufflepuff girl.  He had a hand up her shirt, which wouldn't have been a problem, except for the fact that he had a hand on her neck and she was crying, which made this suddenly Sidney's problem.  "Carpe Retractum!"  He yelled out, a red vine spinning from his wand and around Kaner, it's hold firm as Sidney whipped his wand back and sent the Gryffindor slamming into the wall and away from the girl.

 

"Go to Sprout."  He hissed to the girl, who only stared up at him in complete horror.  For a moment, he suddenly worried if maybe he'd misjudged the situation and if it was maybe something strange but consensual, but the way that her eyes filled up with tears assured him that no, his first instincts were correct.

 

"I can't!"  She said in a loud whisper.  "My family, if they knew I'd been... touched, they would disown me, it would ruin my life.  Please, you can't tell anyone.  Promise me, please!"  

 

Sidney stared at her numbly.  He could hear Kaner start to rustle and move around and the Gryffindor locker room had gone suspiciously quiet.  She needed to get out of here and he should be telling her that if she should report a sexual assault for the good of the school's female population.

 

But.

 

She was a Hufflepuff.  They were always the best out of any of the other Houses, if Sidney was going to be honest.  And for one to be even remotely selfish about something like this, well.  She probably had her own reasons and they were likely good ones.  And besides that, she was blonde and tall for her age and she looked so much like an older version of Taylor that it hurt him a little.  For better or worse, he could never say no to Taylor or, it seemed, to Taylor look alikes.  "I won't tell.  You have my word as a Crosby and a Slytherin. Now get going before someone sees you, eh?"  He finally said.

 

Tears burst down her cheeks anew and she obediently scampered off, leaving Sidney to face Kane with a renewed anger.  He didn't even bother with his wand, he just settled it into a safe pocket and swung at Kaner the moment that he'd stumbled to his feet.  Kaner was piss drunk, even though it had only been two hours since their game had ended.  But he could still fight and returned Sidney's hits with solid ones of his own.  But he wasn't fighting with a shocking amount of righteous fury in his veins like Sidney was and by the time that he was tackled by a mass of angry Gryffindors, he couldn't give a shit about the hits they were landing.  He had Kaner's robes in his hands and was laying punch after punch onto his stupid face.

 

He'd only vaguely recognized that Gryffindors were being thrown off of him and only caught glimpses out of the corner of his eye of one blue robe and a few green and yellow ones.  He hadn't bothered to care, too furious to think, until a pair of strong arms reached through the throng, grasped Sidney around the chest and tried to pull him back.  Sidney was damned well determined to keep a hold of Kane and keep beating the shit out of him and his rescuer's voice was deep and annoyed in Sidney's ear.  "Sid, stop."

 

That was Geno.  Geno was the one hauling him out, and not another Gryffindor.  Sid realized quickly that he was, in fact, very tired and sore and so, he sagged back into Geno's hold and let him pull him out of the fight.  Kane had tried to follow, despite the bloody mess that was now his face, but Ovechkin, of all people, seemed to have no qualms about getting his emerald robes dirty and pushed Kane back.  When Sid looked around, he was more surprised than he had been in quite a while.

 

Seguin and Ovechkin had likely only jumped in out of Slytherin solidarity, and he was willing to bet that Gonchar was helping his own housemate when Geno went to get Sidney.  Flowers had even jumped in, which did not make any sense because Ravenclaws generally didn't like these kind of brawls and while Flowers was a good friend, he was also a very stereotypical Ravenclaw.  Geno had needed to headbutt a Gryffindor who'd come after Sidney because Sid had been completely unable to look away from the bizarre fight that was going on between Toews and, of all people, Jamie Benn.  They were both excellent Captains of their respective house teams and usually, very calm and methodical guys who didn't tend to let emotions get away from them.

 

But sure enough, there was Toews holding his own against the larger Hufflepuff captain.  Tyler Seguin was curling up against the wall with his nose in his hands and Sid tried to make an 'Oh!' sound in realization but found, much to his dismay, that his jaw seemed to be broken.  Still, good for them.  He'd hoped that Seguin and Benn would be able to stay friends this season, since he knew all too well that have a best friend on an opposing team was difficult.

 

He should probably be helping Geno by walking at least a little, but Geno had managed to pull them into a nearby classroom on his own just fine.  Sidney did manage to get into a chair by himself, despite the adrenaline making his knees quake, so he counted that as a win.  Geno was talking to him in Russian and from the tone of his voice, he was likely cursing Sidney out for being an idiot, but his hands were gentle as he held Sidney's jaw in place and muttered out a few healing spells.

 

Geno was such a Hufflepuff, honestly.  He was downright hopeless in Transfiguration and Charms and Arithmancy was something he'd never be good at, but Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology and the ability to do healing charms were really where he shone like a diamond.  Sid sunk into the feeling of warmth knitting his face back together and he accepted the flask of water from Geno with no small amount of gratitude.  

 

Ovechkin and Gonchar burst into the room, followed closely behind by Jamie who was holding Seguin upright and, surprisingly, Flowers tagged in after them.  "Price is sorting it all out."  Flowers announced and Sidney would have winced if his face wasn't such a mess.  Carey Price was not only the Ravenclaw Captain but also the Head Boy and he was going to be furious with Sidney.

 

"Sid."  Geno tapped at Sidney's forehead and he looked up into the face of the man who was probably the person who disliked him the least at Hogwarts, somehow.  "You need say what happened.  Why you do that."

 

Sidney was suddenly furious again.  "Sh-"  And he caught himself before he could finish.  What could he say?  If he said he saw Kaner manhandling a girl, everyone would want to know who.  And if he said that he didn't know the girl, which would be true as he didn't know her name, someone could have easily seen Kaner and the Hufflepuff girl together before they ended up in the hallway and connect the dots.

 

He groaned as the reality of his situation set in.  He couldn't say anything that would hold true to his promise but still possibly explain why he went after Kaner and incited a brawl in a way that would suffice.  With the knowledge that all eyes were on him, he finally said, "I can't say.  He deserved it and more, I swear as a Crosby on that, but I just.  I can't tell you."

 

Ovechkin burst into a furious diatribe in Russian, one that made Gonchar and Geno both look at him in surprise, and Seguin and Benn looked mutinous.  Flowers had stiffened and his face looked furious for a moment, but he didn't say a word.  Instead, he just gave Sidney a nod and that was that.

 

"You want us to trust you."  Benn finally said, drawing with words out in a way that made it very clear to everyone how ridiculous he found the idea.  "You went after the Gryffindor Seeker after a bad loss, that was thanks to that Seeker having outflown you, and you want us to trust that you had a good reason without saying what it is.  And you want us to believe this despite the fact that you are a terrible loser and almost threw a fit on the pitch after Kane got the Snitch first.  You have got to be kidding me, Crosby."

 

"If Sid say was worth it, I trust.  He swore on word of Crosby, that big deal."  Geno met Gonch and Benn's eyes and didn't waver a bit under their withering looks.  Sid would likely never understand why or how he had managed to secure Geno's trust to such an extent but it felt good.  Really good, actually.

 

Ovechkin was still raging in Russian, but it seemed that he was not the only Slytherin to be furious with Sidney.  "What did you see, Sidney?"  Seguin asked, somehow managing to sound incredulous with Benn's embroidered Hufflepuff handkerchief crammed up his bleeding nose.  "You can't just not say it.  Can you get him kicked off their team?  Out of some plays?  If you have some dirt, you have to use it.  For fucks sake, you're a Slytherin.  When did you decide to get fucking honorable?  You do realize that Price is going to take away a fuck ton of points from us, right?  I don't know about you, but I wanted to get that cup again and I will be damned if we lose it because you've decided to act like a Hufflepuff!"

 

To his credit, Seguin did cringe and lift his hands in apology when Benn and Gonchar shot him a murderous glare.  "Just saying.  Slytherins aren't really all that well known for being, you know, honorable.  In fact, we're terrible at it which is why Sidney needs to fucking explain himself and start acting like the Sorting Hat didn't make a terrible mistake!"

 

Flowers chose that moment to speak up.  "Tell you guys what.  How about we go back to our dorms before we all get into more trouble.  I don't know if you all have ever actually met Sidney before but he is kind of stubborn, yes?  And if he will not say, then he will not say.  Better for us to sleep  and deal with the fallout of this in the morning.  Seguin, you need to see Pomfrey before that beautiful face ends up looking like Geno, hm?"

 

Sidney was about to say something indignantly in defense of Geno, who had a very nice face, but Geno's hand squeezing on his shoulder kept him silent.  And amazingly, Flowers's little speech had worked.  Benn herded Seguin out of the room without a word and Gonchar followed behind the still ranting Ovechkin with a look of long suffering dignity.  As the door closed behind them, Flowers set down the abandoned copy of his Arithmancy notes.  "I thought you might still need these, yes?"

 

"Thanks."  Sid managed to grumble out.  He fought the urge to put his head in his hands and wallow in self pity but Flowers was checking Geno's spellwork on his jaw so he stayed as still as he could.  "Alors, Geno."  Flowers finally said.  "How can you barely transfigure a hedgehog into a pincushion, but you can set a jaw like that?"

 

Geno shrugged, though Sidney noticed his chest puff out a bit in pride.  "Hedgehog not want to be pincushion.  But Sid's body wants him to be able to talk.  Is easy enough."

 

Flowers gave Geno a look, but ended up just shaking his head.  "You are so weird sometimes."  He straightened up and let out a long sigh as he held his hands out.  "Listen, Sidney. I know you won't tell me.  But, despite that, I actually fucking trust you on this.  Don't make me regret that, mm?"

 

Sidney just rolled his eyes.  He sounded cranky, which Flowers and Geno were almost certainly used to, but he didn't want to sound too petulant.  Not when they had come through for him.  "I won't.  Well, I'll try not to.  But you do realize that it is going to be open season on me as far as the Gryffindors are concerned, right?"

 

Geno's hand tightened again.  "I watch you.  Got your back."

 

Sidney smiled up at him, which was ridiculous but he really couldn't help himself.  "I know, Geno. But we can't exactly be attached at the hip.  They're going to be gunning for me.  And I am going to defend myself."  With that, he leveled a look at Flowers who only lifted his hands.

 

"You think I do not know that?  Merde Sid, and here I thought we were friends."  Flowers cracked his knuckles, which were actually raw and split and that was a strange thing to see on a Ravenclaw.  "Anyway, I am going to go back to my lovely tower and hope for a peek of the radiant Veronique before bed.  Maybe she will be impressed with my bravery, mm?  Geno, I take it you are going to walk Sid back to the dungeons?"

 

"Of course I walk back.  Already fixed him up today, not want to have to do again."  Geno had stuck his tongue behind his teeth, something that made him looking charmingly like a ruffian.  Sidney blinked up at him, suddenly much too tired to want to look away.

 

"Erm.  Good.  I go then.  Crosby, you bring my notes back or I will hex you until you can't see straight."

 

Sidney heard, rather than saw, Flowers leave.  Instead, he kept looking at Geno, watching as he grabbed Sid's borrowed notes and offered one of his massive hands to Sid to help him out of the chair.  Once Sid was upright, an experience that informed him that he had almost certainly tweaked a muscle in posterior chain, Geno's face had changed and looked almost hopeful.  

 

"You can tell me.  I good with secrets."  He mimed locking up his mouth with a key and gave Sid another hopeful and far too earnest smile.

 

He probably could tell Geno.  Geno would take the promise that Sid made seriously and more importantly, he would be able to grasp right away why Sid was doing something this dumb and keeping his mouth shut.  But the secret would eat away at Geno.  He'd be stuck, unable to do anything to actually help anyone.  And he's probably not be able to keep himself from going after Kane, which would make Toews furious.  

 

It wouldn't be fair.  Sidney would rather carry the burden by himself.  

 

"I know you are."  He finally said and hated himself for how Geno's face fell.  "I can't say.  I promised that I wouldn't."

 

Geno's head cocked, not unlike how the cerberus that he was training would react when a ball was in sight.  But he nodded in acceptance and settled a careful arm on Sidney's elbow as they picked their way through the winding halls of Hogwarts.

 

\--------------------------------------------

 

Sid had known that the fallout from that night would be bad.  But he hadn't quite expected for it to be this bad.

 

Price had deducted 500 points from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, 50 from Ravenclaw due to Flowers's interference and had taken 1000 from Slytherin, and Sidney's housemates were furious with him.  Ovechkin was still launching into russian diatribes at the sight of Sidney that made Geno wince, Seguin was glowering at him on an almost constant basis and Slytherin had decided to make Chara the Captain of the Slytherin team.  Sidney couldn't even practice with them for a month, and that was enough to make him sick.

 

Slughorn had even deigned to invite Sidney to the next Slugclub dinner.  Which was definitely strange, since Slughorn had invited him to every dinner with gusto since Sidney was a first year.  And to add insult to injury, he'd given Sidney a month of detention in which Sidney had to scrub out the cauldrons of the Potions room by hand.  Sid was sure that Slughorn wasn't mad at him about the fight but was instead angry that Sidney wasn't talking about what he'd seen.  But that didn't make him feel any better, as it only made him feel like the worst Slytherin to ever walk through the walls of Hogwarts.  At least the Death Eaters had been able to use the information that they'd gathered with eerie efficiency, even if they were, well, Death Eaters.

 

The Hufflepuffs seemed torn in how to treat Sidney.  They all liked Geno and trusted him, but they also liked and trusted Jamie Benn.  And Benn was not happy about how Seguin had been hurt, much less about how he and Toews were now walking on eggshells around each other.  There was also no indication that the Hufflepuffs knew about the girl and what had happened to her, which Sidney supposed was a good thing.  After all, she didn't want anyone to know and if Sid had to go through all of this, at least her secret was safe.

 

The Ravenclaw were acting strangely.  Very strangely, in fact.  Flowers was standing up for Sid almost as much as Geno, albeit in his own strange way.  And he and his girlfriend Veronique, both Ravenclaw 6th year prefects, were awarding points to Slytherin like it was going out of style.  Price hadn't even bothered to dress Sidney down like he rightly should have.  In fact, when Sidney encountered him and Pk Subban in the halls and Subban had spat at Sidney's feet, Price had taken ten points from Gryffindor.  Sidney hadn't been sure who'd been more surprised, himself for having Carey Price defending him, or PK who was used to getting away from a lot of things when around Price.

 

But Sidney hadn't had much time to think about how strangely Ravenclaw was acting because the entire house of Gryffindor had seemed to have painted a target on Sid's head.  Even Talbott, who Sidney had actually really liked and gotten along with well, had 'accidently' thrown a Bat Bogey Hex at Sid in Defense against the Dark Arts.  Infuriatingly, Kane had been strutting around like a rooster, seeming to revel in the fact that his House was intent on bloodying a Slytherin in his name.

 

Surprisingly, Kane was not the Gryffindor who was the most ready to go after Sid.  That honor belonged to Toews.

 

Sid had been heading back to the dormitory, picking through a disused part of the halls in an attempt to avoid any fighting, when he suddenly found himself hauled upright into the air by his ankle.  His hamstring stung in protest, but Sidney was too busy staring at Toews to care.  Toews' face was locked into a stoic mask, a sure sign of dangerous things to come, and his knee slammed into Sidney's chest with an alarming amount of efficiency.  

 

"Why the fuck did you do that, Crosby."  Toews asked, voice clinical and cold as ever.  "You went after Kane for beating you?  I would have thought that you would have more sense to be that stupid.  You were a Captain.  You do remember what that means?  You remember the part of setting a good example and not acting like a crying little shit?"

 

Sidney's vision was swimming, both from the little gasps that he had to fight for after the kick, and also from the fact that all of his blood was rushing to his head.  "I had my reasons, Toews.  Put me down so we actually talk about this, if you have any intention of even doing that."

 

Toews glared at him and Sidney thought, not for the first time, that this whole situation was really unfair to him.  That was a selfish to think of, but he didn't like the fact that he couldn't tell Toews about what had actually happened.  Sid actually respected Toews, more than any other Gryffindor.  Toews didn't really showboat and he played good Quidditch.  And besides that, Sid would have bet a handful of Galleons on the fact that if Toews had seen what Sidney had seen, he would have beat Kane bloody himself.

 

"What were your reasons?  Because from what I hear, the only other possible reason that you could be mad is because you liked that girl that was hanging all over Kane.  Was that it, Crosby?  Has Geno lost his sparkle and now you're looking for your next Hufflepuff lackey?  Really though, I would have expected you to pick someone better than one of Kane's cast offs."

 

That hurt.  For many different reasons.  Toews knew damned well that Sidney had shown about as much interest in girls as he did in Divination, which was to say none.  He'd even made out with Toews once, after an ill advised night of too much firewhiskey.  And really, Sidney wouldn't mess around with the Hufflepuffs, not like that.  They were too, well, they were too much like Hufflepuffs.  It was impossible to be mean to them like that.  And the idea, the very whisper of an idea that Geno was a lackey or a hanger on or anything besides the best person that Sid had ever met... That just made him mad.  He tried to swing at Toews from his hanging position, which was when Toews calmly nixed the spell, stepped forward and proceeded to beat the everloving shit out of Sidney with a terrifying efficiency.

 

Sid had limped to Pomfrey after that and had kept his lips firmly shut when she tried to get the name of whoever had done that to him.  Sidney was a difficult person to be friends with, he had a bad habit of whining and was anal retentive at the best of times but he was no bitch.  Pomfrey had dutifully fixed him up and Sidney hadn't thought he looked that bad when he entered the Dining Hall.

 

But Geno had taken one look at him and gone rigid.  It was bizarre to see that much rage on someone's face while they sat at the Hufflepuff table but it looked sincere.  Sid gave Geno a weak smile in response and mouthed, 'I am fine' to him, but that didn't seem to mollify Geno in the slightest.  Instead, he'd looked over the Gryffindor table and must have noticed the smirk on Kane's face and the smaller smile on Toews' and his face went red.  Gonchar, thankfully, seemed to catch on and drew Geno back before he could jump over the Ravenclaw table and go for the Gryffindors.  And Sidney really was happy for that because he was simply too woozy and tired to even watch a fight.

 

Toews had shown up to dinner that night with a gait that was almost as rough and stilted as Sidney's and when Geno clasped his broad hand onto Sid's shoulder as he passed by, he could see the telltale red marks on Geno's knuckles.  Idly, he'd wondered what it would be like if he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to those knuckles and how Geno's eyes would grow dark, but he reined that line of thought back sharply.

 

He owed Geno for the last few weeks.  And not just for beating up Toews.  Geno had been showing up randomly in the halls on a near constant basis, his bulk keeping any would be attackers away.  Sid liked that, but he took actual pleasure in hearing Geno's recounting of his day, about how Jeffrey's left head had an ear infection and how his cat familiar, Dixi, had left him a massive dead vole on his bed in the middle of the night.  He'd been proud of her for that little gift, which seemed both bizarre and sweet at the same time.  And he'd listened to Sidney worry about how Chara was screwing up Slytherin's team and how Slughorn had given Sidney the first approving look in weeks, thanks to a substitution of tonguewort into the potion they'd been working on earlier.

 

Geno was a comfort.  But he did continue to ask Sid about what had happened on that night, looking more and more confused at Sid's steady refusal to talk about what had happened.  And frankly, Sid was ready to never think about it again.

 

Flowers, strangely, seemed to share that opinion.  But that didn't seem to make any sense, as Ravenclaws loved knowledge and he would have expected Flowers to be dogged in his attempts to get the information out of Sid.  Instead, he treated Sidney like he always had and if anything, was more protective of him.  It just didn't make any sense.

 

Sid liked to know what was going on.  He liked to have answers and to understand what was happening.  And when Jordie Benn had checked him into a wall and Flowers had sent him on his way with a beautifully done Furnuculous spell, Sid had decided that enough was enough.  "Why in the name of Merlin are you helping me like this?"  He grumbled as he tried to get to his feet.

 

Flowers was quiet for a moment as he helped Sid to pick up his scrolls and finally motioned Sid to an alcove.  "You must think that I am stupid."  He murmured.

 

"You are a Ravenclaw."  Sidney pointed out.  "I'm relatively sure that you can't be stupid."

 

Flowers seemed to be mollified by that comment and nodded in approval.  "Yes, that is true.  But you are acting as though I am stupid and can't put the pieces together.  You see, when I heard the fight start, I saw Madeline Vorci leave the area where the fight began in tears and looking frantic.  From her sister, who is in Ravenclaw, I know that their family is Romanchial, which do not take indiscretions before marriage well, mm?  I also know that Madeline had been flirting with Kaner earlier.  In the fight, you were only fighting Kaner, which makes sense because Madeline does look a decent amount like Taylor.  And then you almost said 'She' when giving your reasons as to why you weren't going to say why you got into the fight.  I put it all together from there.  You saw Kaner doing something to Madeline that made her very upset, stopped him, and she swore you to secrecy, likely because her family would disown her if they knew she was 'tainted'.  I'm also guessing that whatever promise you made to was just to not tell, so you'd probably be fine to confirm a suspicion over what happened that night.  Nod if I'm right, will you?"

 

Sidney fought the urge to gape and instead, nodded his head.  Flowers looked much too pleased with himself, but.  Well.  Sidney supposed that he deserved it.  "As I suspected.  In either case, I told Price of my suspicions, since he is the Head Boy and my Captain, and of course, I told Veronique.  She has since passed the word to the Ravenclaw girls that it would be a very bad idea to ever let themselves be alone or drunk around Kane."

 

"I..."  Sid kept staring at Flowers.  "That's.  Wow.  And that's why you and Veronique have been giving Slytherin points?"

 

Flowers shrugged.  "Price had to give you the 1000 point deduction, we all knew that.  Otherwise, it would have been seen as favoritism, but none of us thought your House actually deserved it.  So we're throwing you some easy points, in an attempt to even it out.  You have told Geno about this, yes?  I figured that you must have, given how murderous he's been around Kane."

 

When Sid looked away, Flowers nearly choked.  "Merde, are you kidding me?  I'd been sure he'd have to have known.  I understand that you are doing this because the girl reminds you of your sister, or maybe you have some hidden Slytherin honor that I have never heard of, but I was sure that you would have broken your little promise to at least tell Geno."

 

"It wouldn't be fair."  Sidney finally replied.  "What could he do?  Beat up Kaner?  I already have.  He can't help that girl, Madeline?, because then she'd know that I told her secret.  It's better this way, for everyone."

 

"Yes."  Flowers finally said, drawing out the syllables as he thought.  "But Geno isn't stupid and, more importantly, he knows you as well as anyone.  He will figure this all out eventually.  And I doubt that he will be discrete, once he figures it all out.   He’ll try, sure.  But when as he’s trying to figure it out, Geno will slip up and ask the wrong person the wrong thing and others will figure it out.  You need to tell him.”

 

“Of course Geno isn’t stupid!”  Sidney’s cheeks were red and he was pissed but Flowers was looking at him and, well.  Yes.  Geno definitely wasn’t stupid.  But Flowers didn’t know Geno like Sid knew him.  “He might figure it out, okay?  But if you think that he’s going to slip up like that, you’re underestimating him.”

 

Sid scrubbed at his face with his hands and let himself rock back and then forth as he tried to control whatever the emotion was that had snuck on him, some strange mix of protectiveness and fear.  Flowers, to his credit, waited silently.  “Marc.”  Sid finally said after he made himself pull his hands away.  “Everything has been pretty terrible since that night.  But it’s been my shit and Madeline’s, you know?  I’m glad to have friends.  Fuck, I’m grateful to have them.  But I don’t want Geno or you to get caught up in this, not any more than you have to.”

 

Flowers let out a sigh, soft and annoyed, but he patted Sid on the shoulder.  “I know, dumbass.  I get it.  I won’t tell Geno.  But, well.  He’s going to figure this out.”

 

“I’ll deal with that when the time comes.”  Sid replied and he tried to look as sure of himself as he could, despite Flowers’s snort in response.

 

But of course, Flowers was right.  Flowers was always right.

 

Geno had tried to motion him over, all big hands and curly hair, on the next breakfast.  But Sid had already figured out what to do.  He spent the rest of the day trying to avoid Geno, but it seemed as if he didn’t need to because Geno was completely absent from the halls, and even from the Care of Magical Creatures class that they shared.  Sidney had actually started to relax as he was walking back from dinner, until Geno stepped out from an abandoned classroom and pointed towards it with a stern look.

 

His stomach sank, but he dutifully walked into the classroom.  “What is this about, G.”

 

“You not tell truth.”  Geno said, voice quiet as he sat on a desk and stared blankly into his hands.  “Why.”

 

Sid froze, unable to breath, much less move from his spot near the door.  Finally, he wheezed in just enough.  “Geno, I…. I can’t.”

 

Geno’s head popped up, his dark shaggy hair swinging around his face and Sidney took in a quick breath.  His breath only grew more tight as Geno stood, stalking towards Sid with furrowed brows.  “Toews say you fight Kane because you liked girl that Kane liked.  That true?  You think, Geno don’t need to know about girlfriend?”

 

He could kill Toews.  “I don’t have a girlfriend, G.”  He said, making sure to enunciate as clearly as he could because now was not the time for translation errors.  “I don’t have time to date, not anyone.  When have you ever seen me flirt with a girl?  If I start to date someone, you’d be the first to know.”

 

Geno had been watching Sid’s lips, a sure sign that he was also making sure that there were no misunderstandings on translation, but his face had grown tight at Sid’s slow enunciation.  His lips drew tight against each other, going pale for a moment until he relaxed them just enough for blood to flow back in.  Sid would bet good money on the fact that Geno was probably dying to chew on the Saint Anthony’s medal that hung around his neck.

 

Sure enough, he brought the medal up to his lips for moment before letting it drop to his chest.  “Sid doesn’t have girlfriend.  Sid would admit if hit Kane because was mad.  Then why?  Why do?”  He let out an annoyed huff at his bad grammar and Sid knew that he probably wished that Sidney could speak Russian now more than ever.  “Why did you do it.”

 

“I can’t say, Geno.”  Sid scuffed at the floor with the toe of his shoe, unable to look him in the face.  “It’s nothing personal and if I could tell you, I would.  But I can’t.”

 

“You can trust.”

 

That made him wince.  Geno sounded so defeated when he said that, voice soft and gruff.  “Geno, I know.  I always trust you.”

 

“Except now?”

 

“That’s not what this is about, G-”

 

Geno scowled at him, giving him a look that was angrier than any that Geno had sent his way.  “Is important to me.  Gonch, Benn, they say I stupid.  Ovechkin say I dumb, say you Slytherin and can’t be trusted, that you using me, dragging me around like-”  Geno let out an angry huff of air and stomped a foot in frustration before launching into loud angry Russian as if Sid would understand what he was saying if the volume was loud enough.

 

The force of Geno’s anger made him want to run away and to get the hell out of this awkward situation but his anger was starting to rise as well.  “You’re listening to Ovechkin now?  You’re trusting Ovechkin now?  Over me?  Are you fucking-”

 

Sid took a step back and shook his head as he tried to get a grasp on how his life had become such a damned mess.  “And what does being a Slytherin have anything to do with it?  Geno, since when did you care about our Houses?  Merlin’s Beard, I thought you knew me right well enough.  And now, you’re listening to all of these people who are telling you shit about me instead of actually trusting me.”  

 

He was talking too quickly for Geno to be able to pick up and, worse still, his Maritime accent was kicking in and he knew that he’d lost Geno by the time that he’d thrown in ‘right’ in before well enough.  It wouldn’t make enough sense grammatically for him and, as terrible as the thought was, he was suddenly furious that he could barely communicate with Geno right now.

 

“Fine.”  Sid threw up his hands.  “That’s just.  That’s fine.  Well, it’s not because it’s some kind of bullshit, but if you don’t want to believe me and talk to my Housemates and our friends behind my back?  You can keep ‘em.  I’m going back to my dorms and you can have a nice night where you don’t have to see me, eh?”

 

He didn’t bother to look at Geno, he just grabbed his bag, turned on his heels and walked out of the room with his cheeks flushed and an incredible mix of embarrassment, fury and, worst of all, betrayal.  And Geno didn’t say a word, not even when Sid slammed the door behind him.

 

Sidney walked back to the dungeons in a haze.  His blood felt too hot in his veins and the chill of the stone walls around him didn't seem to touch him one bit.  He'd been lost in his own thoughts when a voice, calm and familiar as any at the school, murmured out a greeting.

 

He'd jumped but had recovered quickly enough.  "Hello Baron."  Sid bowed his head to the ghost, unable to help a smile.  "You're looking exceptionally bloody tonight."

 

The ghost, a man of regal air and dark blood seemingly flowing fresh onto his clothes, gave Sid a nod in return.  "And you seem troubled.  Tell me, what is on your mind?"

 

How easy was he to read?  Honestly, Sid was starting to get concerned.  But, well, the Baron would be one to catch on.

 

After all, it had been the Baron who'd found Sid curled up in a corner of the dungeons on his second night in Hogwarts.  He'd been crying, homesick and alone and sure that the Sorting Hat had made some kind of terrible mistake.  He'd been hoping to be a Gryffindor like Jaromir Jagr or a Hufflepuff like Mario Lemieux but instead he was a Slytherin.  And, though Sidney had grown up in a relatively small city in Nova Scotia, he'd still heard enough to know about what Slytherins were like.

 

The Baron had found him and waited calmly for Sid to wear himself out with crying.  Finally, the ghost had spoke in his now familiar posh, low voice.  "What is causing you such grief, child?"

 

Sid had scooched away from the Baron, an act that would make him wince to remember in the future but at the time had seemed like sensible self preservation.  "The Hat made a mistake."

 

The ghost cocked his head but seemed completely unfazed by such a ridiculous idea.  "And why do you say that?"

 

"Slytherins are Death Eaters and I don't wanna be one."  Sid finally looked up at the Baron and set his jaw.  "I'm Canadian."  He added in explanation.  It made perfect sense to him, since everyone knew that Canadians would make really awful Death Eaters.

 

The Baron gave Sidney a rather constipated look, an expression that Sidney would later recognize as the face the Baron made when he thought someone was being very amusing.  "Unless something very drastic has been decided, I am relatively sure that Slytherins are not required to follow He Who Must Not Be Named, much less perform the Dark Arts if they have no wish to do so.  And I can assure you that no one is expected to do so, whether they are Canadian or not."

 

"B-but everyone says-"

 

"It does not matter what others say, my boy.  The Sorting Hat saw something in you that made it put you in the correct House.  I have seen every Slytherin who has been Sorted for the last 600 years, and I can tell you that the Hat has not suddenly made a mistake for you and you alone."

 

Sidney set his jaw.  "But it did."  He stated, only slightly embarrassed by how his voice trembled.  "I'm not mean and I like my mom's parents even if they are Muggles and I'm nothing like how a Slytherin should be."

 

The Baron only shrugged.  "And yet, you are a Slytherin.  Would you like me to tell you how I know?"

 

He considered that for a moment before nodding his head.

 

"Slytherins have a reputation for being cunning, yes.  They are known for being able to go for what they want and being able to get it, no matter what.  They can adjust and adapt and do whatever they need to do to reach their goals.  But those traits alone do not make a Slytherin."  At this, the Baron squatted down to look Sidney in the eye, his face somber as a minister preaching to his congregation.  "What makes a Slytherin is the spark of greatness that they carry inside of them and, crucially, the ability to build that spark until they grow to be as great as their potential.  And you, Sidney Crosby of Nova Scotia and Cole Harbor, have a spark of greatness shining inside of you that is so bright, I'm surprised that you can't see it yourself."

 

That had made him cry again but it hadn't been entirely out of homesickness and fear.  There had been some relief in there too.  And Sidney had taken the Baron's words to heart.  Over time, he'd come to accept and, in fact, love the House that he'd been made a part of.  The Slytherins were fiercely loyal to each other and Sidney's indomitable drive was seen as completely understandable, if not downright normal.  And if some of the older kids had made cracks about Sid being a Half Blood, well, he'd proven himself to have greatness.  

 

Slytherin had never quite been able to dull his reflexive Canadian politeness, however.  Sidney privately believed that it was a good thing, as polite people were generally treated better than rude people anyway.  And besides, if his mother heard that he wasn't addressing his teachers in a respectful way or making pleasant small talk with an acquaintance, she would have Apparated to England and twisted his ear.  And so, when the Russian Hufflepuff boy had reluctantly agreed to trade seats with Ovechkin one day, Sid hadn't been able to not notice that the boy was struggling with his Transfiguration.

 

Sid had already turned the ermine into front of him into purple, yellow and green in short succession, earning himself an approving nod from McGonagall and ten points to Slytherin, but the Hufflepuff had only succeeded in turning the ermine from a brown color to an ivory.  And he looked so miserable about it that Sid felt bad just looking at him.

 

"You need to put more firmness in your voice, you know."  He finally said.  The Hufflepuff gave him a blink before turning to a piece of parchment next to him where a quill had written a line in neat Cyrillic when Sid had spoke.  His pale face had drooped a bit as he looked back to Sid.  

 

"Not want."  He said in halting English as he pointed to the ermine.  "Is weasel.  Is brown, white when snows.  Not want be purple.  Not good for it."

 

"Well, you can always turn it back to it's normal color after."  Sid pointed out.  He'd spoken with Ovechkin enough to know that Russians had strange ideas about magic.

 

The Hufflepuff frowned, dipping his head down to gnaw at the collar of his shirt for a moment.  "And if weasel mad?"

 

"Mine hasn't been too worried about it.  I think they were socks before the lesson anyway and McGonagall will probably turn them back afterwards."

 

He got a bright look in response and the boy quickly checked his parchment before repeating, "Sock?  Not... real?  Wild?"

 

Sidney shrugged and gave him a small smile.  "It would be kind of awful to get a bunch of real ermine from the wild just so some first years can change their colors.  But yes."  He said, after he got another confused look that reminded him of the one he got when in Quebec and hearing French.  "Sock.  Not wild."

 

The Hufflepuff considered this line of thinking as he studied the ermine in front of him, tapping it's back with a shoulder.  "Not bite so... must be sock."  His shoulders eased and he repeated the spell, with a bit more force this time.  And sure enough, the weasel took on a pale, but visible, blue tint to it's coat.

 

The grin that Sidney got back was all relief and it was a nice smile, honestly.  It seemed earnest too and Sidney smiled back.  "Am Evgeni."  The boy announced as he stuck his hand out.  "You call Geno, is easy for here."  

 

"Sidney Crosby, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."  He'd shook his hand out of reflexive manners, as he generally did not like to be touched, but he didn't mind it just this once.

 

Ovechkin had eventually grown bored of the Hufflepuff girl who had been Geno's former seatmate, but neither Geno or Sidney would agree to let him partner with either of them.  Instead, they worked together.  Well, in Transfiguration and later History of Magic, it had mostly just been Sidney helping Geno.  But in the next year, they'd had Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology together and Geno had proved to be infinitely better at keeping a plant alive than Sidney.  He likely never would have passed his midterm, had Geno not corrected a pruning job gone horribly wrong on Sidney's mandrake root.

 

He liked Geno.  It was just that easy.  Geno's English was slowly improving and he had tons of great stories about Russian Quidditch, though the idea that Quidditch would ever be played on live trees seemed much too implausible to be real.  And Geno seemed to like Sid too, despite how Sid usually hung back in social situations as much as he could and how Sid had a bad habit of getting a little too intense during Quidditch practices.  They even kept in contact during the summer, as Sidney kept his poor barred owl busy with constant letters.  He was lucky for the fact that Habs seemed to be spoiled rotten by Geno or he doubted that the owl would have kept the  correspondence going.

 

And yes, Sid had developed a crush on his best friend a while ago.  But it would, of course, go nowhere and Sid had no intention of risking their friendship.  And besides, in a year they would be graduated and Sid would be trying to get a spot on a Canadian Quidditch team and Geno would be back in Russia flying trees or something.  It was better that they part ways as friends who could meet up from time to time at a Cup game than to risk what they had on Sid's stupid feelings.

 

"Sidney."

 

He jumped a little as he realized that he had just been walking without ever answering the Baron's question.  "I uh.  Got into a fight."

 

"I have heard that you have been in many."

 

The Baron looked a bit pleased at that fact, Sid was heartened to note.  But he shook his head.  "No.  Well, I mean, yes, I have been in more fights lately than I've ever wanted to, but this one was-"  Sidney let out a shaky breath.  "Different."

 

"Different."  The Baron repeated back to him with raised eyebrows.  "I would guess that I am not wrong in assuming that you are referring to Mr. Malkin, in that case."

 

Sid bristled a bit at that before remembering that reflexively snapping at the Baron about how Geno wasn't strange wouldn't be helpful.  Not when the Baron had been the one to talk him through Sid's realization of his crush in his fourth year.  Of course the Baron would know by his tone that Sid had been in a more personal kind of fight.  "That would be a correct assumption."  He finally conceded.

 

"I had suspected that something of the type would happen.  The Fat Friar has been most determined to make me speak to you of Mr. Malkin's recent change in demeanor, but well.  The Friar is a busybody and I knew perfectly well that you would come to me in your own time.  I assume that this has to do with your altercation in the hallways a few weeks back?  With the Gryffindor and the Hufflepuff girl, and specifically the promise she swore you to?"

 

Sidney stared at the Baron, who waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.  "Portraits are really the worst gossips, my boy.  It would be easier to Apparate into Hogwarts than to try and keep a secret in these walls.  I don't especially approve of your foolhardiness in your attack, always remember self preservation, but I can hardly be disappointed in the fact that you hit a Gryffindor.  And your oath, while hastily done, was well meaning and you've stuck with it faithfully.  Though I assume that secrecy has something to do with your current emotional situation?"

 

Just when Sidney thought that he understood the Baron and the strange job he had in caring for the Slytherins, the ghost would say something that would surprise him all over again.  "Well, yes, but.  You don't mind the fact that I've stuck to the oath?  Even for a Hufflepuff?"

 

How the Baron managed a withering look when he lacked eyeballs, Sidney wasn't sure.  But he somehow managed.  “Slytherins keep oaths, Mr. Crosby.  It is quite crucial to be able to have people trust you, and that often requires for a Slytherin to make a promise.”

 

Sid winced and the Baron cocked his head in response.  “Your fight was about trust, I gather?”

 

“Yeah.”  He said with a sharp inhalation, the sound reminding him so much of home that it hurt a little.  “Apparently all of our friends are telling him that I’m just dragging him around, eh?  Like I’d do that!”

 

The Baron nodded solemnly.  “It is often hard for a person to misuse the person that they love in a such a manner, yes.”

 

The Baron returned Sid’s wide eyed stare with yet another withering look.  “Mr. Crosby, please tell me that you do not believe that I have magically forgotten about the many conversations that we have had about your attraction to Mr. Malkin.”

 

“Well, of course I know that I’ve talked to you about him and you never forget, not really, but.  Love?  I mean.  I love him as a friend, of course.  And, well, maybe if.”  Sid took a deep breath and made himself continue.  “Maybe if, for some reason, I let myself have a delusion that I can have more than what I can, maybe I might love him like, um.  That.  But  I don’t.  And I won’t.  You know that.”

 

With a wave of a bloodstained hand, the Baron dismissed it all.  “In either case, this is drawing us away from the point of our conversation.  You are angry that Mr. Malkin went looking for answers through your acquaintances?”

 

Sid shoved his hands inside his pockets and gave a little shiver, the chill air of the dungeons seeming to finally set down into his bones.  “I’m mad that he believed them.  And I’m mad that he brought my House into it.  He said that Ovechkin told him not to trust me because I was a Slytherin and, I mean.  I thought Geno knew me better than that, you know?  He’s never cared what I am.”

 

“But now he is judging you.”

 

“Yeah.”  Sid swallowed back against the lump in his throat.  “And that sucks.  A lot.  I thought, out of anyone, he’d be different.  He’s…  He’s a Hufflepuff.”

 

“You are aware, of course, that everyone is flawed?”  The Baron asked, voice softer than normal.  “Not being fully faithful and going behind a friend’s back, that is not exactly a Hufflepuff trait.  And from your reaction, I take it that he was not calm and peaceful when you two talked.  Your Mr. Malkin, like you, is more than just his House or the expectations of his House.  He is also a fallible person with regrets and thoughts that he’d rather not have.”

 

Sid frowned and took a corner into one of the more mazelike parts of the dungeon’s hallways.  He stared down at the ground as he walked, the stones gently lit by the Baron’s glow.  “Of course he’s not perfect.”  Sid muttered.  “He has a temper, I’ve seem him almost break his broom when his flying wasn’t going well.  And he doesn’t have any self preservation, much less much of an ability to sit back and plan what he’s going to do.  But he’s never doubted me before.”

 

“Have you forgiven him for almost breaking his broom, or for not thinking before he acted?”

 

His nose wrinkled and he looked over to the ghost in incredulous confusion.  “Why?  That’s just Geno.  He can’t help it, it’s just stupid stuff that he does.  He’s allowed to mess up and not be perfect all the time.”

 

“And how exactly was this situation different?”  The Baron asked, voice calm and cool.  

 

“It’s not.”  He said slowly.  “Not really.  I guess that, well, no one can be completely loyal or perfect or anything.  And it’s not like I’ve been able to really talk to him about any of this, it kind of makes sense that he’d get worried and ask around.  I still don’t like that he brought my House into it but.  Yeah, it kind of makes sense.”

 

The Baron gave him a tight smile in response and they walked side by side for a few more minutes as thoughts rolled through Sidney’s mind as he tried to set his emotions to order.  Finally, he said, “Mr. Crosby, I believe that it would be a good idea if I had a conversation with a certain Russian of our House who has not been showing the proper amount of solidarity that it appropriate.  If you would not mind my exit from our conversation…?”

 

Sid nodded his head, his chest still tight and his mind still too full but.  He almost felt better.  “Of course.  And Baron?”

 

“Yes, Mr. Crosby?”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Think nothing of it, my boy.”  The Baron gave him the thin grimace that passed for one of his smiles as he faded away.  And Sidney was alone again.

 

He kept walking, unable to consider studying or sitting still or, heavens forbid, sleeping.  He walked and walked until his weariness finally got the better of him and he slipped back into the cool green light of the Slytherin common room and then finally, into the 6th Years dorm room.

 

Seguin was snoring and Cooke, Roussel and Rinaldo were all green sleeping clumps in their respective beds but Ovechkin had parchment and a quill spread across his bed.  He stared at Crosby from the dim light of his Lumos and Sidney tried not to glare at him as he headed over to his own bed and started to undress.

 

“I will talk to Zhenya.”  Ovechkin finally said, voice soft so as to not wake their roommates.  Sid’s shoulders tensed as he heard Ovechkin call Geno by the same nickname that all of the other Russians used.

 

“You will not.”  Sidney finally said through gritted teeth.  “I think you’ve done plenty, Ovi.  Actually, if you could make it so that I never had to see you again, I would be thrilled.”

 

Ovechkin wanted to argue with him, he could tell.  He’d only glanced over but Ovechkin’s sharp face was tense and the grip he had on his quill was downright dangerous.  “I was his friend first.  I am allowed to worry, to want the best for him.”

 

His bed felt good as Sid slid under the comforting weight of his covers.  “I’ll be honest with you, Alex.  I really can’t be bothered to give a shit what you feel right now.”

 

Sleep came quickly, and Sidney was glad for that, as insomnia nagged at him for the next few nights.  He couldn’t help it, not really.  Geno wasn’t even looking at him anymore and even switched seats with Ovechkin in their classes.  Gonch was passing him furious looks and Ovechkin, who had stayed blessedly silent around Sidney, wasn’t even able to look at him.

 

He had Flowers still, and that was good.  Even if Flowers had taken to pranking him incessantly, but at least it was pretty funny to find out that Flowers had turned his hair pink during lunch and Sidney hadn’t caught on until hours later.  Veronique had started chatting with him when she could, filling the air with pleasant discussions about magical history, which they both shared an interest in.  And the normally dour Price had even given Sidney a curt nod of greeting during an All House Quidditch meeting.

 

The Gryffindors, of course, had not stopped.  But at least Sidney cared less now about them and became even more proficient in removing hexes and performing counter skills, which carried over to his duelling classes nicely.  Flowers was worried for him and, strangely, Seguin had even started staring at Sidney with look of concern, but Sidney was fine.  He was just fine.  Finals were coming up and he could keep himself busy enough to not think about how he wished that Geno could explain to him how to deal with the Venomous Tentacula in Herbology in a way that didn’t leave Sidney’s robes ripped and torn.

 

He’d wanted it to stop, of course, but he hadn’t wanted everything to stop in the way that it did.  

 

A Gryffindor fifth year came forward to accuse Kane of forcing himself on her and the mood in the school shifted.  The Gryffindors were furious, not with Sidney, but with themselves.  When Kane had been sent away from the school, Toews had taken on a look that was both deeply hurt, furious and confused.  No one had seemed to connect the dots just yet, at least when it came to Sidney.  Or if they were, they weren’t telling him.    And Sidney had no interest in bringing it up with anyone.

 

But he caught sight of Madeline at breakfast one day and he felt awful just looking at her.  Her eyes were red rimmed and she was barely picking at her food and he thought again of Taylor with a deep pang in his chest.  After weighing his options, he finally went over to where she was sitting and leaned his head down to say quietly in her ear, “Please don’t blame yourself.”

 

“I could have stopped it.  I could have done something.”  She muttered back, voice wet with sadness.  

 

“Maybe.  Maybe not.  But you had your reasons, I’m sure.  And you’re not helping yourself any by doing this to yourself.”

 

The side of her lip quirked up, just a little.  “I thought… I was sure you would tell.  Thank you.  For not telling and for getting him off.”

 

Sid gave her a small smile in return and shrugged his shoulders.  “I have a sister, you know.  I’d want someone to do the same for her.”  He stood straight to leave her to her breakfast, only to catch the pair of eyes that he’d been trying to avoid.  Geno blinked at him, face confused and baffled and Sid headed out early to his next class so he could just get away.

 

He had become good at avoiding Geno, but he was taking it to a new level now.  He’d even volunteered, to Chara’s surprise, to clean out all of their gear so he could have a reason to get out of the castle and hide himself in the smelling mess that was the Slytherin team’s gear shed.  But, admittedly, he didn’t mind the work all that much.  It soothed him to organize something and to make it make sense.  If his life had to be a mess, than at least he would have some oasis where he understood how things worked.

 

The spare broom had been a mess when he’d begun to trim at it’s head and the small, precision snips that he made at spare twigs were deeply satisfying.  Sidney had almost gone into a meditative state when he heard the door to the shed swing open.  

 

And there was Geno.  Of course it was Geno.  Of course he’d find Sidney, even despite the fact that Sidney had very purposefully try to hide himself away.  He couldn’t find any words to say, however, and just stared up at him until he finally put the broom to the side and stood in the silence that seemed to be thick between them.

 

“I talk to Madeline.”

 

Sid froze, which was probably not the best idea.  But he kept his voice as calm as he could and kept his eyes down at his feet.  “Who?”

 

“Madeline.  The girl that you been covering for.”  Geno’s feet shuffled as he moved closer and Sidney had to look up and try and figure out what was even happening right now.  Geno’s face was a mask, brows knit and expression complicated and stormy.  “She tell me everything, Sid.  I know why you did what you did.  I know why you lie.”

 

Sid let the clippers fall from his hand and tumble onto the ground.  He almost felt relieved, but he also kind of wanted to cry because this all had just been so much worry in his head on too little sleep.  

 

“Stop.”  Geno muttered, poking at Sid’s lip before Sid realized that he’d been biting at a well worried crack in his lip.  Sid finally looked back up at him, jaw set.  “The less people who knew, the better it was.”

 

“I know, Sid.”

 

“If I’d said anything to anyone, they would have caught on.  She was hanging around Kaner that night.  People would have known and then it would have gotten back to her family.”

 

“Sid, I already say, I know.”

 

“I wanted to tell you, but you couldn’t do anything to help.  You would have felt like shit and that wouldn’t do any good for anyone.”

 

“Sid-”

 

“No, Geno!”  Sid pursed his lips and took a step forward.  He’d crossed his arms somewhere in the time that he’d started talking and he wasn't sure why, but the pose made him feel more powerful somehow.  He was angry now, pissed at the whole situation and the fact that he might have lost his best friend over a Gryffindor.  “There was no point in me telling you.  And if you give me shit about not telling you, I swear that I will hex you because I did the right thing and-”

 

His brain stopped.  It didn’t freeze, it didn’t slow, it didn’t do anything but stop.  And he couldn’t blame it because Geno had moved quicker than he really had any right to and had slid those big hands on the side of Sid’s cheeks and held him like something precious.  And then, Geno was kissing him and Sid couldn’t really do anything but kiss back.  But only for a moment.

 

He reared back and jammed a finger into Geno’s chest.  “No!”  He growled.  “No, you haven’t talked to me in days and all of a sudden you are kissing me and I.  I don’t understand and I need to understand.”

 

Geno didn’t move his hands and Sidney both hated and loved that fact because it meant that Geno was at least touching him and was at least here, but it also meant that Sid could barely think.  “I.  I was stupid, Sidney.”  Geno’s voice was slow and halting, and shit, Sid hated when he called himself stupid because he wasn’t.

 

“Don’t give that look, was stupid.”  Geno shrugged.  “Let things get into head, fester.  Get bad.  Should have said to myself, ‘Is Sid.  Trust’.  But instead?  I listen to Ovechkin and other people, and not listen to myself.  You were brave, Sid.  Madeline say how you saved her, how you promised.  I was wrong.”

 

Geno’s hands shook Sid’s head gently on the syllables of his last sentence.  “Was wrong.  And almost lost you, which would be worse of anything.”

 

“Which would be the worst, you mean.”  Sid said numbly.  This was a bad habit of his, correcting Geno’s grammar.   But this probably wasn’t the best time to point that out, of course, but Sidney couldn’t really think.

 

Geno blinked at him, once, twice and then a third time.  And then, infuriatingly, he began to laugh.  Sid glared daggers but he waited for the other boy to finish.  When Geno did, he had to take a hand off of Sidney’s cheek to wipe at the corner of his eyes.  “Even when I say how good Sid is and even when I be good, Sid correct grammar.  Nothing changes!”

 

Sid bristled indignantly at that, which only made Geno laugh harder.  “So angry!”  He hooted and it still took him a solid minute before he could stop laughing enough to talk.  “Sid worse than porcupine, is cute.  But you not tell anyone, which is dumb for you to not say the news to me.  Still, I understand, no need to explain.  I understand.  You did good thing.”

 

Geno leaned in again and Sid had already recrossed his arms with no intention of uncrossing them.  But then Geno muttered against his lips, “Always know you are best.  This proves it.”

 

And that was how Sid melted.  He uncrossed his arms and pulled Geno closer, kissing him back fiercely as he tried to get across all of the emotions that had been going through his mind for the past few weeks.  He poured in how tired he was of everything, of how badly he had missed his friend and how much he had always wanted to be this close and kissing Geno and how scared he’d been.

 

Later, when Geno was snoring with his head resting on Sid’s chest and Sid was eyeing the roof of the storage shed and idly reminding himself to clean out the spiderwebs in the roof, it all hit him.  They would graduate next year, and Sid and Geno would be apart and he didn’t think that he could stand not having him close enough that he could feel how wispy Geno’s hair was at his temples.

 

He poked at Geno’s bare shoulder and watched, a little amused actually, as Geno’s head flew up.  “Sid?”  He asked blearily, looking all the world like a hibernating bear.

 

“Yeah.”  He said.  “I need to ask you something.”

 

Geno waited, though whether he was being patient or whether he was still mostly asleep, Sid wasn’t sure.  Finally, he just nodded his head and waited for Sid.

 

“Do.  Do you, uh.  Do you maybe think that, after graduation, you might want to come to Canada?  Play Quidditch?”  He braced himself, since it was a stupid question and of course Geno wanted to go home to the country that he clearly adored.

 

The grin that slid crooked across Geno’s face was a good one, and his eyes crinkled in amusement.  “Has been plan for four years, Sid.  Where you go, I go.  We win many games.”

 

It was probably good that Sidney was already on the floor because he doubted that his knees would have kept him up after hearing that.  “Oh.”  He said in an embarrassingly squeaky voice.  “Good.”

 

Geno’s arm was large and broad and he was able to pull Sidney in closer with such ease that it made it hard to think straight.  “Sleep, Sid.”  Geno rumbled.  “We work details out after nap.  Have plenty of time.”

 

As Sid finally did sink into sleep, surrounded by Quidditch and Geno and with the world finally making sense again, he nodded to himself.

 

There was plenty of time.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Well, thank you for making it to the end! This is my first Hockey RPF fic, and I have actually enjoyed writing it because it also helped with my complicated ideas on how Sidney Crosby actually is, i.e. complicated, awkward and fierce as hell. I'd also like to thank, even though I doubt they'll check this fic out, 'lynchee', 'exmanhater', 'knight-tracer' and 'adistantsun' for their fucking phenomenal podfics which have made my days at work so much better. Seriously, go check out their work. It's amazing.


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